Improvement in car-couplings



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BENJAMIN D. MOODY, OF DARKSVILLE, MISSOURI.

IMPROVEMENT IN CAR-COUPLINGS.

Specification forming part of LettersPatent No. 139,016, dated May 20,1873; application filed May 28, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:-

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN D. Moonv, of Darksville, in the county ofRandolph and State of Missouri, have invented a new and ImprovedOar-Coupling; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full andexact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawing forming part of this specification, in which' Figure 1 is aperspective view of a drawhead having my invention. Fig. 2 is a verticalcentral section, showing two draw-heads in contact; and Fig. 3, atransverse central section of one draw-head.

Similar letters of reference in the accompanying drawing denote the sameparts.

This invention relates to automatic car-couplin gs, in which the pin isheld above the mouth of the draw-bar by a sliding spring-block, which isstruck by the end of the 'adjacent draw-head and forced backward,allowing the pin to drop into place when the cars come together; and itconsists mainly in the peculiar construction and arrangement of thesliding block hereinafter described, and also in the formation of therecess of the draw-head, whereby the link which rests therein is allowedfree lateral andvertical play, said link being suitably balanced in thethroat of the drawhead, so that its projecting end may properly enterthe draw-head of the adjacent car, whether the latter be higher orlower, or otherwise out of line or not.

A represents the draw-head, in the upper portion of which is a socketfor the reception of a block, B; said block slides in its socket,

and is pressed outward by a spiral spring, 0, which is located in achamber, 0, in the rear of the block. The block B is T-shaped, its wideend projecting from the draw-head A transversely, and extending nearlyacross the same, as shown in Fig. 1. When in this position thecoupling-pin D rests upon the shank of the block B, and is held upthereby; an orifice, b, in the shank allowing the pin to drop through atthe proper time and enter the recess below. It will be seen that, uponthe contact of the draw-head A with that of the adjacent car, the blockB will be struck and forced inward until its outer end is flush withthat of the draw-head, at which point the orifice b comes in line withthe pin, and allows it.

in use, however, the block has been constructed with a shoulder or arm,which projects downward into the recess of the draw-head, in order thatthe device may be operated by contact with the end of the link as wellas by the bumper, while the projecting end of the block has usually beenmade with a small strikingsurface, the entire block, in fact, being arectangular sliding piece, provided with a downwardly-projecting arm,which construction is liable' to the following objections, viz: First,the danger of breaking the projecting shoulder when the link is longerthan usual, and is forced against it when. the cars are brought sharplytogether, in which case the link is crowded between the end of therecess in the opposite draw-head and the shoulder of the sliding block,and is extremely liable to break the latter; second, the liability ofthe end of the sliding block failing to collide with the approachingbumper when the latter is so far out of line as to strike on either sideof the block, or allow the same to enter its mouth, consequentlyproducing no effect.

These objections are entirely removed in my invention, as the block Bslides in a chamber above and entirely distinct from the recess of thedraw-head, and, therefore, has no connection whatever with the link. Thewide projecting end of the block cannot well escape coming in contactwith the adjacent drawhead, as it covers nearly the entire width of thesame. The operation is, therefore, certain, and the liability tobreakage obviated. The walls of the recess E of the draw-head taperinward from the mouth to a throat, e, as shown commonly have parallelsides, and are of such wid th as to allow but little lateral play to theprojecting end of a link held therein. Frequently, in coupling cars, thedraw-heads are out of line with each other longitudinally, when the carsare on a curve of the track, for instance. Under such circumstances, itis desirable to allow the link to swing laterally to accommodate itselfto the positions of the draw-heads. In my invention this result isobtained by the shape of the recess E, as above stated; hence the linkis secure from breakage from the cause described, as it cannot bind inthe draw-heads.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is-- The draw-head Ahaving the recess E, with tapering walls and throat e, in combinationwith the weighted link o 0 and T-shaped block B, operating in a separaterecess, and with the spring (J and pin D, all constructed and arrangedto operate as specified.

BENJAMIN D. MOODY.

Witnesses:

M. CHURCH, NATHAN K. ELLSWORTH.

